"The main message is that sustainability would help" – Reflections on takeaway messages of climate change data visualizations

Publications: Contribution to conferencePaperPeer Reviewed

Abstract

How do different audiences make sense of climate change data visualizations and what do they take away as a main message? To investigate this question, we are building on the results of a previous study, focusing on expert opinions regarding public climate change communication and the role of data visualizations. Hereby, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 experts in the fields of climate change, science communication, or data visualization. We also interviewed six lay persons with no professional background in either of these areas. With this analysis, we aim to shed light on how lay audiences arrive at an understanding of climate change data visualizations and what they take away as a main message. For two exemplary data visualizations, we compare their takeaway messages with messages formulated by experts. Through a thematic analysis, we observe differences regarding the included contents, the length and abstraction of messages, and the sensemaking process between and among the participant groups.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 May 2023
EventCHI 2023 workshop on HCI for Climate Change Imagining Sustainable Futures - Hamburg, Germany
Duration: 28 Apr 202328 Apr 2023
https://sites.google.com/fbk.eu/hci-climate-change

Seminar/Workshop

Seminar/WorkshopCHI 2023 workshop on HCI for Climate Change Imagining Sustainable Futures
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityHamburg
Period28/04/2328/04/23
Internet address

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 102037 Visualisation

Keywords

  • Data visualization
  • lay people
  • climate change
  • understandability

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